1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a display method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, television devices (display devices) can receive a television broadcast signal which is digitalized and transmitted, and can also be connected to a cable television system, various external devices, and the Internet. As a result, the television devices can receive a large amount of video contents, use image providing service from a service provider, and access related information. Contents that can be used include a moving image, a still image, various data information, metadata, widget, and the like.
Therefore, in an operation of the television device, a selection of many video broadcast channels and a selection of many contents are required, and a system that can easily select a channel and content is desired.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-140007 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-149384, an image of a receiving broadcast channel is displayed as a parent screen. A plurality of other broadcast channels that have been already received are sequentially searched, and acquired images are categorized and displayed in a single horizontal row in a lower portion of the screen as child screens along with the parent screen. Furthermore, there is a modification step in which display data is sequentially modified.
However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-140007 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-149384, the number of screens that can be displayed is limited, and an image display of the broadcast channel is mainly performed. Differently from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-140007, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-149384, a display size of the child screen decreases as the child screen approaches the edge of the screen, and it is considered so that contents more than in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-140007 can be displayed.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-119755, the screen is divided into a plurality of small screens, and priorities are set for the plurality of small screens.